Engaging with underserved communities during times of crises

A computational analysis of social media interactions with government information about Covid-19 economic relief programs

Bibliographic Data

ID21558829
AuthorsJihye Lee (0000-0002-4298-4058, The University of Texas at Austin, corresponding author), Soojong Kim (0000-0002-1334-5310, University of California, Davis)
Year2024
Volume95
Pages102209
Publication date2024-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueTelematics and Informatics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0736-5853 • E-ISSN: 1879-324X
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.tele.2024.102209
OpenAlexW4404212774
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited71

We examined how underserved communities engaged with government information about COVID-19 economic relief programs. • We also explored how fear affected underserved communities’ engagement. • We developed an original dataset of Facebook posts with links to government websites on COVID-19 economic relief programs. • Findings show that underserved communities commented on and shared COVID-19 relief programs more actively than non-underserved communities. • However, such engagement significantly decreased when fear was expressed in policy discussions. Racial and social inequalities in the digital landscape remain pressing concerns in society. Previous research on government efforts to address digital inequality has largely focused on improving access to digital infrastructure and literacy. However, there is a severe shortage of research that examines how underserved communities engage with government information on relief measures and policies during crises. This study fills these gaps by drawing insights from three bodies of literature – digital inequality, the situational theory of problem solving, and fear. We investigate how underserved communities, such as low-income individuals, communities of color, and rural populations, interacted with government information about COVID-19 economic relief programs designed to mitigate the adverse effects of crises, and how fear influenced public engagement patterns. We analyzed Facebook posts ( N = 28,887) containing links (URLs) to government websites on COVID-19 economic relief programs from 2020 to 2022. Our findings show that posts shared within underserved communities generated higher levels of engagement (shares, comments) compared to those shared in nonunderserved communities. This indicates that underserved communities showed great interest in and participation with government information about relief programs during the pandemic. Notably, engagement significantly decreased when fear was expressed in discussions, and such a pattern was more pronounced in underserved communities than in nonunderserved ones. These results offer valuable insights into the communication dynamics of underserved communities during crises, contributing to a deeper understanding of digital inequality within the policy context

2019-20 coronavirus outbreak · Business · Economic growth · Economics · Political science · Public relations · Social media · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Medicine · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Public Relations and Crisis Communication · Social Media and Politics · Virology